Today we have a guest post from Liz who runs the Lisa Kent Memorial Trust – a charitable organisation that does some very fine work in the Gambia in the area of child education. If you’d like to know more about the Lisa Kent Memorial Trust then please visit their website.
Gambian children in class
The Lisa Kent Memorial Trust is a registered charity in the UK and The Gambia for educating children. It was founded in December 2003 following the tragic death of Lisa Kent. (The daughter of very dear friends).
The Trust built & established a very successful nursery school, which accommodates 154 children, most of whom are sponsored from the UK. Children start at the nursery school at the age of 3, if sponsorship continues will move to primary school at 7 or 8. The Trust has funded the teachers through a three-year teacher-training course, which they have completed during the holiday periods. Many schools in the Gambia do not have qualified teachers, so the Trust feels we are exceptionally lucky to have well respected and educated teachers who are all very committed to their school.
The nursery!
The school is fortunate to have its own water supply, toilets and electricity, although this can be spasmodic. The official opening ceremony was attended by The Head of the Gambian Early Childhood Development Dept and the Kent family.
The Trust helps other local Gambian schools through our sponsorship programmes and providing educational aids where appropriate. We encourage sponsors, who support a specific chosen child to carry on with the sponsorship programme throughout the child’s education, which the Trust oversees.
The Trust has recently purchased a plot of land in a rural area of the Gambia, where there is currently no school and it has started to build a nursery and primary school. The reputation of the original Lisa Kent Nursery School has encouraged families to relocate to the area so that their children can attend the new school.
Learning to read
The Trust has a long way to go with the build and are looking for volunteers for a weeks working trip next April to assist in the build. We welcome any volunteers who may be interested regardless of experience or skills. We rely purely on fundraising events, donations and our child sponsorship scheme to be able to carry out this work.
If you would be able to support the build or wish to sponsor a child’s education, e.mail enquiries@lisakenttrust.org or write to the Lisa Kent Memorial Trust, PO Box 1083, Cambridge CB23 7WT.
